


Victoria and Lord Melbourne: A Christmas Tale.

by EfrainJorge



Category: Victoria (TV)
Genre: Advent Calendar, Advent Calendar 2018, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Past Lives, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Christmas, Christmas Eve, Christmas Smut, Christmas Special, F/M, Family, Hurt/Comfort, Love, Marriage, Married Couple, Older Man/Younger Woman, Past Lives, Reincarnation, Soulmates, True Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-06
Updated: 2018-12-28
Packaged: 2019-09-12 13:42:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16873935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EfrainJorge/pseuds/EfrainJorge
Summary: Victoria and her friend Nancy accept, for interest, a particular invitation to live Christmas in a remote mansion, in the middle of a harsh winter. But the trip has great surprises for Victoria, in a mysterious and magical experience.





	1. The troubled Christmas stay of a Young Woman.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Victoria faces a Christmas trip with her friend Nancy with a mixture of bad attitude and the hope to realize her dream. But nothing has prepared her for what will happen.

Victoria was driving the car, attentive at all times to the instructions of the GPS, while a big snowfall fell on the road through which it passed. The girl was quite frustrated and not for the first time since she took the car she had rented at the Aberdeen Airport she regretted having accepted that invitation.  
Beside her, in the passenger seat, Nancy slept, snoring rather loudly. Victoria looked at her out of the corner of her eye and then extended an arm to shake her a little.  
"Nancy, wake up! " Victoria exclaimed in an energetic tone and with some annoyance.  
Nancy woke up complaining like a girl her mother had woken up to go to school on a Monday.  
"Hell, Vicky! ... I was having an erotic dream and the best part was coming," protested Nancy looking angry.  
"And you snore when you have an erotic dream? ... Normally I excitedly moan when I have a dream like that ... No wonder that no boyfriend stays by your side for a long time!" Victoria replied half seriously and half jokingly.  
"Haha! ... You're very funny ... Are we already arriving?" Nancy asked as she stretched stretching her arms.  
"According to the GPS, there is still a long way to go ... I just wanted to wake you up so you were conscious before you died," Victoria answered with a gesture of frustration on her face.  
"Die? ... Did you take any drugs with coffee this morning?" Nancy replied impatiently and mockingly.  
"No, simply that if it continues to snow in this way and the visibility continues to worsen, I can not rule out that the car will get damaged and we are found frozen dead at the roadside ... A nice Christmas present!" Victoria replied with a snort.  
"Victoria, do not be a party pooper! Besides, I detest that people are bitter in December, I hate Mr Scrooge!" Nancy exclaimed with an ironic smile.  
"I do not know why I agreed to come! ... This is crazy! I gave up spending Christmas with my family to accept the invitation of that crazy billionaire, and if that was not enough, the guy makes us come to one of the coldest places in the country in a particularly harsh winter ... Who the hell celebrates Christmas in a castle hidden in such an abrupt place? ... Is he the Count Dracula? " Victoria said irritably at having to make that trip between Aberdeen and a place near Cairn Gorm mountain, in the north of Scotland.  
"Vicky, do not be silly ... you know perfectly well because we're here. Or is it that you know another investor who is willing to invest money in our project? ... It's the dream of your life, Vicky ... and you know perfectly well that you would go to hell to make it happen," Nancy replied.  
"Maybe we'll go today if it keeps snowing like that!" exclaimed Victoria.  
Nancy gave a small mocking moan and then snorted, rolling her eyes, making Victoria unable to suppress an amused smile. Nancy started talking about other things to distract Victoria, who got a little excited. After a few minutes Victoria's cell phone rang and after seeing the origin of the call on the screen, she activated the hands-free function to answer the call.  
"Hello, Mama," said Victoria.  
"Hello, sweetness ..." said Victoria's mother.  
"Hi, Mrs Louise," said Nancy.  
"Are you listening, Nancy? ... Hello to you too, sweetness ... But you have not arrived yet?" Victoria's mother asked.  
"No, mom, we're almost there, but we need a bit to get there ... it's snowing a lot so I have to go slow. But according to GPS and weather conditions, I think we'll arrive in half an hour," said Victoria being more reassuring with herself than with her mother.  
At her residence in London, Victoria's mother was talking on her own cell phone, also using the hands-free function while sitting on a sofa in the living room, unpacking some Christmas decorations she had bought to add to her already ornate Christmas decorations.  
"Drive very carefully, Vicky ... did you remember to pack enough warm clothes? ... and you carry quite an underwear clean?" asked Victoria's mother, who had an astonishing resemblance to Queen Victoria's governess, Baroness Lehzen.  
"Mom, I'm not a girl anymore!" Victoria exclaimed embarrassed while Nancy laughed out loud.  
"All right ... hey, Vicky ... I was seeing photos of that guy you're going to see and he's very handsome, besides he's single ... I'm just saying, that you do not have to close yourself to opportunities that do not come every day," said Victoria's mother trying to sound a little joker, but speaking more seriously than I wanted to admit.  
"Mom, please! ... I'm not looking for a husband!" Victoria replied impatiently.  
"Just make sure he is not gay like the last one!" Victoria's father exclaimed in a tone of disgust while turning the page of the newspaper he was reading. He was sitting in an armchair next to the sofa on which his wife was sitting, and he had an undeniable resemblance to the late Duke of Wellington.  
"Dad! ... Really? ... Are you really telling me that? Do not get tired of rubbing it in my face!" exclaimed Victoria raising her voice angrily.  
"I'm just saying that ...!" Victoria's father began to reply.  
"Arthur, enough!" exclaimed Victoria's mother scolding her husband, "Leave the girl alone! Vicky, do not pay attention to your father's fool, he's still upset because you will not spend Christmas with us ... You just enjoy your trip and hope you have luck with your project. Goodbye Nancy," Victoria's mother said goodbye affectionately.  
Nancy and Victoria said goodbye to Victoria's mother with affection, and then they were silent for a moment, while Nancy looked askance at Victoria who stayed serious. Four months earlier, in the middle of summer, Victoria had come to her house unexpectedly and had found her boyfriend Albert in the shower with another man ...  
Victoria reacted like a caged beast and ended up breaking a bottle in Albert's head while his lover was running away naked from the apartment. The conclusion of the incident was Albert in the hospital where he was stitched several surgical sutures in the head, Victoria sleeping one night in the police station and a couple of days later Victoria picking up her things from Albert's apartment to live in her parents' house, again.  
"Vicky, honey ... you'll see that it will be a very happy Christmas for everyone ... Your dream will come true at last," said Nancy lovingly while stroking the arm of her friend.  
"I hope, it would be good if something good happens to me, for a change ... but you're right, I must have a positive mind because if we've come this far I can not let my bad attitude spoil this opportunity," Victoria said seriously and then relaxed the gesture of her face and turned to see her friend with a friendly smile.  
A while later Victoria's car and her friend arrived at the gate that gave access to a walled property, and Victoria clicked the video intercom button. A woman answered the call and after she heard Victoria identify herself, she activated the opening of the gate, and Victoria drove the car inside the property.  
The car went down the road that led to the mansion. On both sides of the road stretched meadows that were now covered with a thick layer of snow. The road itself had been cleared by a snowplough machine a couple of hours before. The girls were impressed to see the mansion, a huge and imposing mansion similar to the one in the series "Downton Abbey".  
Victoria parked the car near the main entrance of the mansion, while employees who had left the mansion came to pick up the luggage of Victoria and Nancy, and take it to the house.  
When they crossed the threshold of the mansion's main entrance, Victoria and Nancy were greeted by a thin, middle-aged lady, very friendly.  
"Good afternoon, Miss Victoria, Miss Nancy ... I'm Emma White, the housekeeper. Mr Cartwright asked me to apologize you, on his behalf, for not receiving you in person because of his schedule, but he will meet you for the dinner," said Emma.  
Victoria and Nancy were taken to the guest bedrooms assigned by Emma and several maids who helped carry the luggage of the two girls. The friends marvelled at the sumptuousness of the bedrooms, with huge canopy beds and very elegant and classic furniture in general, and beautiful paintings on the walls that depicted bucolic scenes of the British countryside in the 18th and 19th centuries.  
A couple of hours later Victoria and Nancy were waiting for the host, standing at the entrance of the mansion's huge dining room, and Nancy commented admiringly on the size and luxury of the room, which had a rich and beautiful Christmas decoration when a man approached stealthily to them from behind.  
"I'm afraid, it's nothing in front of the Queen's dining room in Buckingham," the man said smilingly.  
Victoria and Nancy turned around a bit startled, and Victoria was almost hypnotized to see the green eyes of the man who saw her with an intense gaze.  
"Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you, young ladies ... I'm William Cartwright," said the tall, handsome man with green eyes who smiled charmingly but who did not stop looking at Victoria with a gaze intense and even a little intimidating.  
"Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you, Mr Cartwright, I'm Nancy Sutton," said Nancy, extending her arm to shake William's hand.  
William and Nancy greeted each other cordially, but Victoria was paralyzed and silent, so Nancy felt a little embarrassed and, in a veiled way, she nudged Victoria to react.  
"Excuse me, Mr Cartwright, I'm Victoria Doherty. It is a pleasure to meet you."  
When they shook their hands, Victoria felt as if an electric shock ran through her body and her skin bristled. In addition, Victoria's heart quickened.  
"It's a pleasure to have you here, Miss Victoria and Miss Nancy. I must apologize to you for having brought you here, with this climate, and that you must be away from your families this Christmas. I hope to make your stay very pleasant. I'm waiting for another guest, to start dinner," said William very kindly.  
"Excuse me, Mr Cartwright ..." Victoria began to say.  
"William, please ... I hate that my guests call me Mr Cartwright, especially if it is someone I respect and admire," William replied with a charming smile and a virilely seductive gaze.  
"William ..." Victoria said swallowing thick as she tried to relax and slow down her racing heart, "By chance, have not we met before? " Victoria asked with genuine curiosity.  
"Well, I do not think, I ..." William said becoming a little nervous and to Victoria's surprise his voice broke and even she noticed that his eyes seemed to get wet.  
"I'm here, William. Sorry for the delay," said a handsome young man as he approached them.  
"That good! Ladies, let me introduce you to ..." said William, who seemed relieved by the appearance of the man.  
"Matteo Francatelli!" Nancy exclaimed enthusiastically and stepped forward almost pushing Victoria, who looked at her surprised, "Excuse me, but I am a great fan of yours, Mr Francatelli," she added a little embarrassed by her initial outburst.  
"Don't worry, miss ... I love knowing that I have fans in Britain, in Italy I have a few, but here few people know me," said Francatelli smiling.  
"Don't be modest, Matteo ... you have many fans in Italy and here they know you more than you think," said William laughing.  
Only Victoria seemed not to know who Francatelli was.  
"Vicky, he is the star of that Italian series of detectives, prosecutors, corrupt politicians and Mafiosi that I like it so much and it about which I have spoken you ... The one I see in my favourite application. He is the prosecutor Cominardi," Nancy said as if it were absurd that Victoria did not know.  
"I'm going to blush, Bella signorina! " exclaimed Francatelli with a small laugh.  
William invited them to enter the dining room to start dinner. The food was pleasant and the four talked cheerfully, but it was evident that between Francatelli and Nancy there was a lot of chemistry, and between Victoria and William there was also a more subtle magnetism, but at the same time intense and strange, as if they both felt a very old chemistry and inexplicable, contained by a certain timidity or discomfort, like two lovers very much in love with each other who had separated and had reunited after ten years.  
The evening was finished early so that the girls could rest after their trip, while William and Francatelli were left drinking whiskey and smoking cigars. Nancy and Victoria met for a few minutes in the bedroom assigned to Victoria, exchanging impressions about the men they had just met.  
"The two are charming," said Nancy lying on the bed next to Victoria.  
"Yes, but do not you find it strange that there are no more guests? It will be that they brought us with the hope that we will be their divertissement in the nights that remain for Christmas, to hot their beds," said Victoria, half seriously and half jokingly.  
"Victoria, let's be honest ... you and I are not bad, for us to be just under 30 years of age we are reasonably beautiful women, but we honestly do not play in the Premier League. A handsome and multi-millionaire man and a famous and also handsome actor, they can have spectacular women, models of Playboy or Victoria's Secret. Why would they prefer women like us who we are not competitors for Adriana Lima? Also, if Matteo needs a pre-Christmas gift, maybe I'll be willing to give it to him," said Nancy mocking and naughty.  
"You surprise me, Nancy! Where was my puritan friend who hates promiscuity? " Victoria said mockingly and pretending scandal.  
"I'm just kidding!" Nancy exclaimed getting up and walking towards the door, "Or not ..." she said with malice turning to see Victoria and winking at her, "I'm going to sleep ... alone ... and you should do the same if tomorrow you want to convince William with reasons and words and not with your body".  
Sometime later Victoria was sleeping soundly when suddenly she began to dream. She was in large rooms, very ornate with antique and luxurious furniture. Victoria felt that this place did not correspond to this time, she was convinced that not only was it a place where she had not been before in this life, but it was also another era.  
Victoria noticed that in that place it was also Christmas because there was Christmas decoration in all the rooms of that huge and sumptuous building. The decoration was also ancient, it did not belong to the present. For example, instead of electric Christmas lights, there were candles. There were at least two huge Christmas trees, two beautiful natural pine that seemed recently felled, much better than those artificial plastic pine that many people prefer today. Victoria could almost smell the fragrance of the two pine, they decorated with garlands and many ornaments of bright and striking colours.  
Victoria contemplated that beauty enraptured and felt that she was immersed in a oneiric scene, a scene from a film or television performance of "A Christmas Carol". Then she began to hear the voice of a woman, a very familiar voice, that seemed to call someone. Surprised Victoria began to look for the source of that voice, going through the salons and the long corridors, but did not see anyone. Instead, she began to hear the voice of a little girl calling her mother, and that was when she saw at the end of a long corridor a woman and a girl, both on their backs, holding hands, both dressed in clothes that looked ancient when it is seen from behind, especially the woman whose dress almost reached her feet.  
Victoria felt the impulse to run towards them, but then she felt deep sorrow and an anxious fear and woke up from sleep.  
Slowly Victoria opened her eyes, in that state that is halfway between sleeping and being awake. When she woke up a little more, she recognized the guest bedroom in which she was staying in the darkness, and reached out to find the glass of water in a small piece of furniture next to her bed. But at that moment she heard the muffled sound of the voices she had heard in her dream, the familiar voice of the woman and the voice of the girl. Victoria turned to see the door of the bedroom because it seemed that it was the place where the voices came from, which they also seemed to be muffled by the door since the woman and the girl seemed to be behind it.  
With a mixture of surprise, fear and curiosity, Victoria got out of bed and stood up, putting her feet, covered by socks, on the floor. She walked very slowly the few steps that separated the bed from the door, with her heart very fast and her skin bristling. Increasing her astonishment, Victoria saw how the bedroom seemed to have been submerged in a thin mist, a mist that a few moments before was not there.  
Victoria extended her right arm and with shaking hand activated the door handle, and cautiously opened the door. Then something amazing happened ...  
Victoria was in the middle of a large room, with the same style as the others as she had seen in her dreams. She saw figures in profile, a man sitting in an armchair and to whom she could not see the face. The girl and the woman of her dreams were standing in front of the man, and the three seemed to converse, but she did not understand the words that were heard as far away and interrupted by a sound like a strong wind.  
Victoria was focused on the figures when the woman seemed to notice her presence and slowly turned her head to see Victoria. And Victoria's heart was about to explode ...  
The face she was seeing was her own face, the face of that woman was Victoria's face, absolutely identical. The woman seemed to be her twin sister, a twin sister of course non-existent. And the gaze of the woman was an intense look, full of mixed emotions, but especially of sadness and nostalgia ...  
Terribly frightened, Victoria stepped back as if she were going to turn around to run, but then her legs failed her and Victoria fell to the floor sitting. And suddenly everything around her moved like a whirlwind, the view of Victoria became blurred and when she managed to focus it again, Victoria again suffered a great surprise.  
To begin with, she realized that her feet were no longer covered by socks, but that they were barefoot, with the soles of her feet feeling the surface of a rough stone floor very different from the floor of the mansion's bedroom. Then Victoria saw that she was not dressed in the pyjamas she wore when she got out of bed, but with a strange dress that seemed very ancient, from a time that at that time was not able to identify. In addition, a kind of veil covered her head, and to her dismay, Victoria saw that around her there were several people seeing her, mostly men, inside a room of a strange building.  
Victoria felt afraid when she heard a man's voice calling her in what seemed like a strange language, a voice that nevertheless sounded reassuring. Victoria, still sitting on the floor, turned to see where the voice came from and then the light emanating from a transfigured figure dazzled her ...  
Startled, Victoria woke up again with a racing heart, but to her amazement she was lying on her back on the floor of the mansion's guest bedroom, dressed in her pyjamas and her feet covered with socks. Victoria sat up on the floor and felt her pyjamas with her hands and then touched her head looking for the veil she wore in the last part of the dream, but it was not there. She would have believed that it had been a very vivid dream if it had not been because she was on the floor and not in the bed, in front of the bedroom door, and that the door was open.  
Through the open door, Nancy appeared wearing pyjamas and stretching her arms while yawning. Nancy was going to say hello when she saw Victoria on the floor and opened her eyes in surprise.  
"Victoria, but ... what the hell are you doing on the floor? " Nancy asked puzzled.  
Victoria was in huge confusion ...


	2. Christmas Traditions and Mirrors of Time.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group enjoys the stay, while Victoria sees the realization of her dream closer, and Christmas continues to push her through the mirrors of time.

William, Victoria, Francatelli and Nancy watched the huge Christmas tree present in the main hall of the mansion. It was a huge pine tree, 18 feet tall, leafy, and when they came close to it, it was possible to smell the natural fragrance of the pine, as if they had just cut it down. The tree was profusely decorated with ornaments representing different themes, such as angels, saints, snowmen, snowflakes, stars and animals, and many Christmas balls. Also garlands and electric Christmas lights. The tree was presided over by a large golden star.  
Nancy commented enthusiastically, pointing out the details that she liked most about the beautiful Christmas tree, while William and Francatelli listened smiling and responded happily to Nancy's comments. But Victoria only contemplated the tree in silence, with a somewhat serious gesture on her face, while she remembered her strange so vivid daydream of the previous night, by the similarity that she found between the tree that was in front of her and the Christmas trees that she had seen in her dream, those trees that were also tall and beautiful and lavishly decorated, although with more ancient ornaments. The memory of those trees led to her memory of those people who were in the dream or hallucination (she was not sure), especially that woman who was identical to her, that twin that only existed in fantasy. She also remembered the last part of the dream or hallucination, when she seemed to be transported to another place and another era. Victoria tried to find all the possible explanations inside her head, from psychological to esoteric.  
"I see you look very serious, Victoria," said William affectionately and with a charming smile.  
"No, excuse me, William ..." Victoria replied with a smile between friendly and ashamed, "It's just that the tree brings back memories, no doubt it's a beautiful Christmas tree ... it reminds me of some trees that I saw somewhere, maybe in a movie, some period drama ... William, can I ask you a strange question? " Victoria added between curious and shy.  
"Of course," said William a bit intrigued.  
"This house ... is it possible that this house has ghosts? " Victoria asked a little anxious, unable to hide her curiosity.  
Nancy and Francatelli sketched surprise gestures on their faces, which in the case of Francatelli was followed by a funny smile and in Nancy's case by a gesture of scandalized reproach as if with the gesture she told Victoria: "What the hell are you doing?".  
Instead, William saw Victoria with a gesture between sympathetic, moved and a little sad.  
"Well, until now we have not had them ... the house is not as old as it seems, it was built in the 1930s by my great-grandfather, although he ordered it to be built with Jacobethan architectural style, that's why it seems older ... So far there have been no testimonies of ghost appearances, not even of my great-grandfather, my grandparents or my parents, but like most of the year I am in London, I do not know if perhaps the employees of the house who they are here all year have seen something ... I can ask them, but why the interest? " William answered kindly and with a smile a little amused, but not mocking.  
"No, nothing ... are my nonsense, it's just that a house like this seems to stimulate my imagination as a writer ... possibly some new story arises from my stay here, I do not know," Victoria replied trying to hide the embarrassment under a nervous giggle.  
The others laughed too, although Nancy saw Victoria with a gaze of some censure. Then the group continued making a tour of the mansion, and in another room, they admired a huge Nativity scene made in a corner. In the scene, the scenes of the city of Bethlehem and its surroundings in the times of Jesus were very well represented, with high hills and houses and buildings of that time piled up in the nucleus of the small city at the foot of the hills and some scattered in the slopes of the hills. There were shrubs and trees in miniature throughout the scene, and a stream with real water running through the hills and fields around Bethlehem, an artificial stream created by a small electric pump hidden from the viewers and had a powerful flow to be a scale reproduction. Small figures representing the inhabitants of Bethlehem, peasants, shepherds, soldiers, merchants and others were distributed throughout the scene. In a prominent place of the Nativity scene was represented the manger where according to tradition was born Jesus, with Mary and Saint Joseph around the figure of the little newborn child. In another nearby part were the Magi riding on their camels to the place where the baby Jesus was born, and in another corner, an angel announced the good news to a group of shepherds.  
Nancy was impressed by the artistic beauty of the Nativity scene and she was puzzled by its presence in the Scottish mansion of a British aristocrat who was not Catholic.  
"My mother was Italian, and Italy is the homeland of the Nativity scene. And honestly, it seems to me a very beautiful and lovely tradition, with a lot of artistic value and with a great sentimental meaning for me, more than you can imagine," said William, and his voice broke a bit of emotion at the end, and his eyes they got wet.  
Francatelli put a hand on William's shoulder and then turned to see Nancy with a smile.  
"What William says is true. The tradition of the Nativity scene was initiated by St. Francis of Assisi in Italy in the year 1223, who made the representation in a cave with people of flesh and bone, and animals. Quickly the idea became popular and spread throughout Italy, it replacing the actors of flesh and bone with ceramic figures or other materials. And from Italy, the tradition spread to other Catholic countries and became especially popular in Spain, and from Spain spread it to all the territories of its Empire, so in the Spanish-speaking countries of America it is also very popular," explained Francatelli with a charming smile as she looked at Nancy with an intense and seductive gaze.  
But Victoria did not notice anything, because again she was absent. Upon seeing the Nativity scene, Victoria's mind flew to the end of her reverie when she was sitting on the floor, dressed in strange ancient clothes and barefoot, in a strange place, she surrounded by unknown people. But now her mind moved on to another confusing scene, a scene in which she walked at night under a starry sky and headed to a place lit by the fire of a bonfire, a place where something extraordinary awaited her ...  
Victoria came out of her reverie when she felt Nancy's hand on her arm and heard her voice.  
"Vicky, William was inviting us to accompany him to the library," Nancy said with a bewildered gaze fixed on Victoria.  
Victoria nodded and the group began to walk towards the library, and discreetly Nancy whispered in Victoria's ear.  
"What's wrong with you today, Victoria? " Nancy asked intrigued and a little worried.  
"Nothing, just nerves ... for the project," Victoria lied in low voice.  
William, Francatelli, Victoria and Nancy took their seats in the library, which looked like a mixture of a classic library of an old mansion with a modern office, probably fitted out so that the owner of the house could run his business from that country home. At a large table, the four were leafing through a few copies of a document that William had printed from his computer.  
"Sincerely, I really liked your script, Victoria. And I gave it to Francatelli to give me his opinion, and he also liked it a lot. That's why I am inclined to support your project," said William speaking in a friendly tone but with the professional image of a businessman.  
In the following conversation, they talked about how Victoria, after having written a romantic novel that had some publishing success (a period drama), had written a screenplay for a television series, which was also a romantic story and a period drama. Then Victoria and her friend Nancy, who was also her co-worker in a company dedicated to social media marketing, had created a project to promote the production of the television series written by Victoria, they advertising it among Victoria's readers. Looking for executive producers who were willing to finance the production of the series, they had finally reached the gates of William who owned most of the shares in a major television production company. William had shown interest in the project and had convinced them through his representatives so that both women would come to their Scottish country residence in the middle of December to discuss the project in person.  
In the talk, William praised several aspects of the script and asked some questions to Victoria about details.  
"It is certainly a very interesting story ... it could potentially be a new "Downton Abbey", said William while continuing to leaf through a printed copy of the script, with his glasses on.  
"Definitely will not be a new "Downton Abbey", said Victoria looking a bit angry.  
William raised an eyebrow, Francatelli gave a surprised gesture and Nancy kicked Victoria's leg under the table, and when Victoria turned to see her, Nancy saw her with a gesture on her face as if to say: "I'm going to kill you Victoria! "  
"Excuse me, William ... what happens is when Nancy and I tried to get investors for our project, we heard too often the comparisons with "Downton Abbey" ... Some asked me if it was a kind of copy of Downton or if I had been inspired by Downton, which showed me that they had not really read the script or had not understood it ... Others told me that if I wanted to get it produced, I had to change it to make it more like Downton, which was what the viewers wanted to see, as a witch told me ... I mean, a lady who ran a production company ... Do not think, I hate Downton Abbey, on the contrary, my mother and I were fans of Downton, and it's a series that I respect and admire a masterpiece ... but I did not want to make a copy of Downton. I think that when someone tries to copy a cult series to obtain the same success, the result is a mediocre work, simply a cheap copy, and in the case of a work of romantic fiction, it ends up making a cheap soap opera ... That's why I did not want to make a copy of Downton, I wanted to do an original work, with a much darker and more raw plot than Downton, a plot with complex characters with deeper and controversial motivations, characters who are not saints or demons and who suffer stormy passions... That's why my story is more visceral than Downton's," explained Victoria sincerely, proud and excited.  
"I think you could not make a better defence of your work, Victoria ... I agree with your analysis, and all those things that you have quoted are the ones that have made me bet on your project ... Well, we will," William replied.  
"Are you going to produce my series? " Victoria asked surprised and excited.  
"Yes, I have already discussed the issue with the CEO of the production company of which I am a shareholder, and I just wanted to confirm my decision after speaking with you face to face ... Now it's just a matter of lawyers preparing contracts, although later the hardest part will come, which is to start working on preproduction, that as you will see is a stage of a lot of work, but also exciting," said William with a smile.  
Nancy and Victoria had to contain their excitement because they just wanted to jump on the table, to celebrate. William asked the employees for a bottle to toast with them and with Francatelli.  
That night Victoria went to bed happy and could not remember the dreams of the previous night. Soon she fell asleep deeply and then fell back into a dream.  
Victoria walked through old corridors, like those of her previous dream. When she passed by a mirror she saw herself in it and then saw that she was dressed like her twin from the previous dream, that in fact, she was now that woman. But she was not afraid, because a conviction had awakened in her, the conviction that she was that woman.  
She went to a door that gave access to a room and saw that a footman made a gesture to open the door to announce her, but with an imperious gesture she stopped him and ordered him to leave. Her voice was laden with incredible authority in that reality, and the servant withdrew with a bowing. She turned the door handle and had to inspire, to slow down her racing heart, and felt her eyes were wet, but she held back the tears.  
Victoria entered the room and saw that there was a man sitting in an armchair, by the fire of a fireplace. The man was dressed in a sleeping gown that he wore over his nightwear, and he was wearing slippers. The man seemed to be dozing, but when he heard Victoria enter the room he woke up and then he saw her with wide eyes, with a gesture of surprise.  
In a small corner of Victoria's mind, that corner that was still anchored to the current reality, she felt a great surprise. The man seemed to be William Cartwright, the host of Victoria, but he looked much older, because if Mr Cartwright appeared to be no older than 45 (besides well preserved for his age) the man on the armchair appeared to be over 60 years old and he looked sick, with a very haggard appearance. His hair was almost completely grey and deep wrinkles were showing on his face, especially around his sad eyes. But still, it was possible to admire the beauty and charm in the face of a man who had been irresistibly handsome for most of his life.  
But strangely in Victoria's mind, in that dream, there was the conviction that this man was not Cartwright, and in fact, that name was diluted until it disappeared, like a speck of dust in the air. And Victoria felt her mind returning to its place, that all the pieces fit together as if she had been confused before. Now she only felt a cumulus of mixed feelings, pain, nostalgia, happiness, worry, compassion, anxiety, uncertainty ... She stepped forward and spoke to the man in the armchair ...  
"Lord M! " Victoria exclaimed as a greeting, with as much emotion as if in those two words was condensed all the happiness and all the pain of the world.


	3. Emotions.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The memories continue to flow magically, without being invoked, bringing with them intense emotions that are echoes of a remote past.

"Ma'am, what are you doing here? " Lord Melbourne asked, his voice broken by emotion and containing tears of emotion, as he made an effort to try to get up from the armchair.  
"Do not get up, please! " Victoria exclaimed making a gesture with her hand as she walked quickly to shorten the distance and forgetting her dignity like Queen, to kneel down beside him, and taking Lord Melbourne's right hand between her own hands placed a kiss on the back of his hand, "How could I not come here knowing how you are? " she added with eyes bright and wet, and tender gesture on her face.  
"Ma'am ... I'm glad you're here, God only knows how much ... but I'm worried that people will talk, I care about you, the gossip you can unleash when visiting your former prime minister in his country residence," Lord Melbourne replied with a sad smile that had a small glint of his old ironic smiles, mocking and charming.  
"Lord M, after so long I being Queen, I have learned to deal with public opinion and evil gossip, I know how to deal with that thousand-headed monster and cut all of them and keep the dignity of the Crown safe in the process ... I learned from the best one," Victoria said with a funny and nostalgic smile at the end.  
"My best disciple! ..." Lord Melbourne said caressing Victoria's cheek with the back of his left hand, "But how do you know I'm not feeling well? " he added.  
"As I know you will not tell me the truth in your letters, I have my own sources of information," Victoria added as if she were a naughty girl proud of a prank, but also with a certain sad touch.  
"Sources of information ... How my sister Emily?" Lord Melbourne asked mockingly.  
"Please, do not bother with Lady Palmerston ... she's just being a good sister and a good friend," Victoria replied with puppyish eyes.  
"I can not bother with my favourite girls ... besides, I should always be grateful for the opportunity to see you again, ma'am," said Lord Melbourne affectionately.  
"Speaking of favourite girls ... there is a person who has come with me and who wants to see you again after a long time," Victoria replied with a lovely smile and bright eyes.  
Lord Melbourne made a funny and curious gesture on his face, and Victoria stood up and went to the door of the room, opened it and left for a moment and then returned in the company of a girl of 7 years, quite pretty.  
"Vicky, say hello to Lord Melbourne," Victoria said to her daughter.  
"It's a pleasure to see you again, Lord Melbourne," said Vicky, in the polite manner she had been taught to use.  
Lord Melbourne paled and a gesture that revealed mixed feelings covered his face, while his eyes filled with tears. He tried to speak, but when he opened his mouth he could not speak. Victoria was also intensely excited, but she reacted to prevent her daughter from feeling uncomfortable.  
"Vicky, unfortunately, Lord Melbourne is very sick at the moment and that is why he can not stand up to greet you properly ... Obviously, we will be understanding and you will excuse him, right? " Victoria said in an affectionate tone.  
"Of course, Mama ... I'm sorry to hear a lot about your illness, Lord Melbourne ... I hope that soon your health improves," said the girl remembering all the words that she had been taught to say in those social situations.  
"Thank you very much, Your Royal Highness! ... You have no idea how excited I am to hear those words from you," Lord Melbourne said in a voice broken with emotion.  
"You're welcome, Lord Melbourne," Vicky replied with a lovely and amused smile.  
Lord Melbourne watched the girl's face and her gaze, that gesture and that gaze that showed an intelligent, strong, intuitive and curious girl, that peeked into life with joy, a joy somewhat mocking and ironic.  
Victoria affected saw both them and remembered the scene that day, before leaving Buckingham Palace. Miss Skerrett brought the girl, dressed elegantly and with her hair combed impeccably by Nancy. Victoria crouched down and spoke excitedly with her first-born daughter.  
"Vicky, today we are going to visit a very important person for me, an old friend of Mama ... He knows you, but you should not remember him, he is Lord Melbourne," Victoria said with a sweet smile.  
"Lord Melbourne ... he was your prime minister, before Mr Peel, right, Mama?" the girl asked, frowning as if concentrating to remember something.  
"Yes, honey ... he was also my first friend and my mentor, he taught me to be Queen, I have often told you about him," Victoria answered excitedly.  
"Yes, but he never comes here ... why should we visit him?" Vicky asked with curiosity and naivety, not as a complaint.  
"He cannot come for reasons that are very difficult for you and me to understand, and now also because he is a little sick, and that makes Mama sad ... because Lord Melbourne has almost no family and is very lonely, and Christmas is coming ... That's why I want to surprise him and visit him, and I know he's going to be very happy to see you because he was carrying you when you were just a baby ... Do you want to make Mommy happy? Remember that children who are good with Mama are those who have gifts at Christmas," said Victoria seeing her daughter with an intense look.  
"Of course, Mama," Vicky answered.  
"I'm happy ... you'll also love Lord Melbourne's house, it's a very beautiful country house called Brocket Hall ... There's another thing, Vicky ... this will be our secret and you should not tell anyone not even Papa," Victoria replied.  
"Papa either?" Vicky asked surprised.  
"Not Papa ... you know how Papa is, he cares about us, but sometimes he is very exaggerated and he does not want us to leave the Palace a lot, and Mama did not have time to let him know. That's why so that he does not get angry with Mama we will not tell him anything ... Besides, big girls keep secrets, and you're already a big girl, right, Vicky? " Victoria said tenderly.  
"Sure, Mama, I am," Vicky replied enthusiastically and cheerfully.  
During the trip to Brocket Hall, Vicky was very excited discussing, what she saw on the way with her mother and with Skerrett. The carriage advanced guarded by soldiers of the Queen's Guard, and thus it arrived until the main door of the mansion, where the majordomo received the Queen saying that he had received instructions from the sister of Lord Melbourne, Emily, of not announcing the arrival of the Queen so that she could surprise his master.  
Victoria, Skerrett and Vicky walked through the corridors of Brocket Hall.  
"Mama, do you think Lord Melbourne will like me? " Vicky asked a little anxiously.  
"I'm sure, darling ... I'm sure," Victoria answered repressing a pout, not to break to cry like a girl.  
That had happened a while before, now Victoria was looking in proud and tender at Vicky and Lord Melbourne.  
"Your Highness ... the last time I saw you were a baby, and now you are a young lady, a very beautiful young lady, like your mother, Her Majesty ... I certainly admire the way you have grown, one day you will be a very beautiful bride at your wedding," said Lord Melbourne with a gaze of infinite admiration and affection.  
"Thank you very much, Lord Melbourne, you are very kind ... but I do not wish to marry, I do not like boys, they are very stupid," Vicky answered truthfully.  
Lord Melbourne and Victoria laughed, and Vicky also ended up laughing.  
"Vicky, let's not start ... someday you'll have to get married, it's your duty," Victoria said trying to sound serious and holding back her laughter.  
"I'm just saying what I want, Mama ... I would prefer to be Queen than get married," Vicky said firmly.  
"Vicky, you know that Bertie will be the King, we will not discuss the subject again," Victoria said as an affectionate scolding.  
"I know, but I was born first, do not expect me to like it, mother," Vicky said crossing her arms and frowning angrily, which was also evident in the fact that she called her mother "mother" when she was angry with her.  
Lord Melbourne laughed out loud, surprising a little to mother and daughter.  
"I'm sorry, Your Highness ... but you remind me of your mother when she became Queen, I think the temper is very similar," said Lord Melbourne, delighted and amused.  
"I was older than the princess when I became Queen, and of course I did not have that bad temper," Victoria replied, crossing her arms and adopting the same gesture of anger as her daughter.  
"I've been told I'm more mature than the Queen was when she was my age," Vicky replied with an ingenious and ironic response that left her mother speechless and angrier.  
Lord Melbourne had another fit of laughter, and mother and daughter ended up smiling in front of that.  
"There is no doubt that Her Highness has inherited the strength and impudence of her mother, which makes me very proud," Lord Melbourne said with a gaze that said many things and that filled Victoria with joy.  
The three chatted happily, and after a while, Lord Melbourne called the employees with a bell and he sent them to look for something. They brought him a box wrapped in wrapping paper.  
"Your Highness, it's a Christmas gift I bought for you ... I was thinking of sending it to the Palace, but, since you're here," said Lord Melbourne with a smile.  
"For me? ... Thank you very much, Lord Melbourne!" exclaimed Vicky with a cheerful smile and enthusiasm, "Can I open it, Mama?" Vicky asked turning to see her mother.  
"Normally you should wait until Christmas, but it's a special occasion and it's better that you open it in front of Lord M," Victoria said drying a tear that slid down her cheek.  
Vicky opened the gift and found a beautiful music box.  
"It's very pretty! ... Thanks, Lord Melbourne!" exclaimed Vicky enthusiastically.  
"Your Highness ... would you allow me to kiss your cheek?" Lord Melbourne asked excitedly.  
Vicky was astonished, but when she turned to see her mother she saw how she nodded and encouraged her with an anxious gesture of her face. The girl brought her face to Lord Melbourne and he gave her a soft and tender kiss, while Victoria pouted, and had to look away so her daughter would not see her cry.  
In the present, Victoria woke up in the bed of her guest bedroom in William's Scottish mansion, remembering all the dream. But what surprised Victoria most was that she was crying ... tears ran down her cheeks, she unable to contain them, and Victoria felt a pain that she did not understand.  
"What is this? ... Why can not I stop crying? ... Why this feeling oppresses my chest?" Victoria asked loudly, pouting, while with the back of her right hand she dried her tears that did not stop flowing and with her left hand closed in fist pressed her chest.  
And so she cried for a long time ...


	4. Open Heart.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A conversation opens many doors, on the route to the surprising truth.

Victoria watched Nancy and Francatelli as they played making a snowman, both laughing and showing with their attitude that there was good chemistry between them. Victoria was sitting on a bench in the garden of the mansion, deep in her thoughts about the intense emotional experience that had been for her the strange vivid dream of the previous night, although Victoria was no longer so sure that it had only been a dream.  
That morning Victoria had searched the Internet because the diminutive that she had used in that dream to call the man in the armchair was familiar. And then she remembered what she had heard in the history classes at the school which Queen Victoria called that at the first of her Prime Ministers, her great friend and mentor, Lord Melbourne. And also that, to the first-born daughter of the Queen, Princess Victoria, they called her with the diminutive of Vicky. Victoria remembered the jokes that sometimes they made her, about her resemblance to Queen Victoria, a resemblance that she attributed to the not necessarily true way in which painters represented their famous models.  
After searching the internet, Victoria was more confused. Reincarnation? Victoria had never thought seriously about the subject, had only seen some documentaries on TV and some fiction films that touched the subject, and had read some articles. On one occasion she began to read a book on the subject but abandoned it after a couple of chapters. Although Victoria considered it an appropriate subject for some of her upcoming novels or scripts, and although she was excited about the idea living again in the earthly world after death, living several lives with very different experiences from one to the other, it really was not something about what she was very passionate about, and about it she was torn between scepticism and a small hope that it was real.  
But the idea of being the reincarnation of one of the most famous Monarchs in history was something that seemed simply implausible, absurd. And that strange relationship with Lord Melbourne made everything more surprising. And those intense emotions ...  
Victoria was so deep in her thoughts that she did not notice William approaching until she heard his voice asking her permission gently way, to sit next to her. She agreed with a kind smile.  
"Excuse me for asking you, Victoria ... but something bad happens? I see you worried and somewhat sad," said William with a tone of sincere concern.  
"I do not know, William ... I'm having strange dreams, very vivid as if they were real experiences. Maybe they are the materialization of thoughts and fears very deep in my subconscious, the result of a phase of my life quite stressful and discouraging, and even now, that I am about to see one of my biggest dreams realized, my mind has decided to play with me and make fun of my happiness ... Well, I believe that," said Victoria in a kind and grateful way.  
"I wish I could help you, Victoria ... but I know very well that dealing with the ghosts inside your mind is something that no one can help you with. In any case, I would like you to be happy during your stay here, this Christmas, and if there is anything I can do for you, I will do it with pleasure," William replied charmingly.  
"Thank you very much, William!" Victoria replied with happy gratitude.  
Victoria saw him and could not help remembering the strange dream, in which William was Lord Melbourne. It seemed totally outlandish, but ... was it really possible that his charming host was the reincarnation of a former British prime minister of the nineteenth century? Not even in her witty imagination of writer could she have imagined something like that.  
"William, can I ask you something personal?" Victoria said shyly.  
"Of course, if I want to be your friend we must talk about anything, and certainly there is no scandalous secret about me," William replied with a mocking smile.  
"I've heard you're single, but have you never been married?" Victoria asked feeling inexplicable anxiety.  
"No ... I've never married. I know it's a little strange, being a man of my position and considering that in a few months I will be 46 years old ... Many years ago, when I was a lot younger, I had an accident in a helicopter in a jungle, when I was going to supervise a mining project in which my father's company had invested. The experience ... well, let's say that the experience made me value what is really important in life, and to value the authentic and disdain the false, also regarding the feelings ... I have had relationships with many women, before and after that incident, not I'm going to lie to you ... but they were relationships where it was always clear that it was not about deep feelings, emotional dependence and fidelity or exclusivity ..." replied William sincerely.  
"Friends with benefits?" Victoria asked with a mocking smile.  
"Yes, something like that ..." William answered with a funny expression on his face, "But that does not mean I do not want to love a woman and have a stable relationship, even forming a family ... it's just that, I am very demanding and I want to find a very special person, a person who will be unique in the whole world to me, a person who may have been destined for me by the universe and who will be on my way inexorably," added William with a nostalgic and moved face and a sweet and intense gaze about Victoria, "Or maybe it's just that the blow to my head during the accident left some perennial sequelae that doctors could not detect," he concluded with mocking sarcasm.  
They both laughed heartily, and then they were silent for a moment.  
"And what about you? Have you never been near the altar?" William asked a bit nervously and with sincere curiosity.  
"Well, I do not think ... my love life has not been as long as that of other women who are close to their 30s. I have not dated so many guys, and so far I've had only 3 important relationships. One was with my first love, my boyfriend from high school ... the relationship ended not long after I entered college, and perhaps it was my most painful breakup because I was a girl and it was my first love. The other two were with guys I lived with," Victoria said honestly, but with a certain shyness.  
"I see ... that means you've already lived with two boyfriends, so you already have experience with something very similar to marriage," said William trying to hide a certain discomfort, disappointment or disgust, as if that would cause him jealousy.  
"Well, I suppose so ..." Victoria replied a little uncomfortable, not understanding why she felt as if she was confessing something embarrassing to someone she had to apologize for, "With my boyfriend from college I lived with him a couple of years ago when I graduated ... I ended the relationship because I got tired of his manipulative and arrogant personality, of his determination to try to become me a trophy wife and a devoted housewife dedicated to serving him in all his needs and also of his habit of cheating me with any woman pretty that was in the street ... Then I was living alone for a while, a time when I had some dates with some guys but none ended in something important ..." Victoria continued blushing and feeling more embarrassed to see that William's face reflected repressed and veiled displeasure, "And finally, I met Albert ..." Victoria said the name with contempt and anger but was surprised to see that William was startled a little, he reacting astonished to hearing the name, "... he seemed like a good boy, very attentive and intelligent, very formal, very different from the narcissistic tyrant with the tough guy complex of my previous boyfriend ... although he was also a bit boring and cold, an obsessive perfectionist and a control freak ... But none of that prepared me for the surprise I suffered a few months ago and for which the relationship breakup," Victoria added angrily as if it had happened yesterday.  
"What happened?" William asked with genuine curiosity.  
"Are you promising that you will not laugh?" Victoria asked speaking seriously.  
"Of course ... I'm not going to laugh at what happened to you," said William, more curious.  
"One day I arrived home before time, several hours before ... and I discovered that he was cheating me ... with another man," Victoria said and in her last words anger mixed with shame.  
William took a few moments to process what he had heard, then looked away and lowered his head, trying to stop the laughter that threatened to erupt.  
"You promised you were not going to laugh!" Victoria protested, appearing indignant.  
"Excuse me, Victoria ... but really imagining is very ... well, it is terrible, but at the same time ..." William replied in the middle of a repressed laugh.  
"Yes, I know ... my mates also ended up laughing when they realized that it no longer affected me," Victoria said with a wry smile.  
"Did you live a long time with him? ... You never suspected anything?" William asked serenely and trying to become serious.  
"We lived together less than a year and a half ... and no, I did not suspect, although his frequent gazes at my older brother who is in the Army and lives in a gym sculpting his muscles should have told me something," Victoria replied sarcastically.  
"Did you love him?" William asked now anxious and with an intense gaze.  
"No, really no ... It's funny, but now that I think about it, I think I've never loved any man seriously ..." Victoria answered as if she were talking to herself and was curious about a recent scientific discovery, "I mean ... obviously, I've been pretty in love with those men, with my 3 boyfriends ... but now that I think about it, it has not been a love so intense and heartbreaking that it made me believe that I could not continue without it ... It has not been that kind of love that makes you feel that you need desperately of someone so much that if you lose him it is as if you lost the meaning of your life as if a part of your soul would die, as a mother when her son dies ... No, I have been in love, I have suffered enough for that, but I recovered relatively quickly and then I discovered to my surprise that this person no longer means anything to me, that I am interested almost as little like a stranger. Of the 3, maybe the one I've been most in love with has been my first boyfriend, and although I keep a nice memory of him, I found him again a few years after our separation and I felt that I no longer felt love for him, just a little tender affection, like that of a sister ... And in the case of the others, it's worse ... I to be honest my relationship with Albert was not working well for several months before the incident, I felt that the relationship was getting cold and that if we were together it was for comfort and habit, and I came to believe that it was my fault that I could not be happy with any man, that I was very demanding and fickle in my feelings, and I felt a bit guilty for eventually damaging Albert, and that is why I tried harder, to save the relationship ... but when I discovered truth I really felt betrayed and cheated emotionally, and that's why I reacted violently, but after my outburst of anger, I understood that I did not love him and that he was less important to me than a worm ... In short, a pitiful and pathetic love life" concluded Victoria with disappointment and a certain sadness.  
"Victoria, your story is not very different from that of many women and many men too ... At least you've tried it, and you've been in love, even if it's half-hearted, I have not even been in love, that must be more regrettable ... In these times it is not easy to find true love ... in these times that we live, what is true love? ... What is it? ... Where to find it and how to keep it? The important thing is to try, even if you fail, I think so," said William with a sympathetic gesture and a charming smile.  
"Thank you very much, William ... it makes me feel better," Victoria replied smiling and affectionate.  
"Do we join Nancy and Francatelli?" William asked.  
"Yes, of course," Victoria answered.  
They both started walking, but then to Victoria's mind the image of William returned when she mentioned Albert's name and then the mechanisms of Victoria's brain were activated and a piece of information was recovered to compare it with recent events ...  
"Prince Albert!" Victoria exclaimed surprised.  
"Did you say something?" William asked puzzled.  
"No, it's nothing," Victoria said embarrassed and smiled.  
As they kept walking, Victoria could not stop thinking about the new and amazing coincidence she had noticed, and she felt stupid for not remembering before, that Queen Victoria's husband was named Albert as her gay ex-boyfriend. And she felt increasingly uneasy and irritated about this absurd and disconcerting situation, wondering if she should not go to therapy with a psychologist. And she also felt fear, thinking about the new surprises that the night could bring if the dreams came back to assault her ...


	5. Mothers & Daughters.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Relive the past is often a painful business, the price of knowing yourself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here are two versions of the Christmas carol sung in this chapter, one of those versions sung by children:  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHAOeSMkAgE  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xw38pGhPXIk

Victoria dominated her wish to cry and calmed down immediately, hiding her pain very well, something in which she already had a great experience acquired throughout her life and especially in recent years. Then she saw a piano that was in a corner of that room where Lord Melbourne rested and her face lit up with a joyful gesture and a smile almost childlike. She turned to see her daughter and Lord Melbourne.  
"Vicky, would you like to sing for Lord Melbourne?" Victoria asked excitedly.  
"Mama, I'm ashamed a little," Vicky replied blushing.  
"Honey, you sing very beautiful ... and you've already sung a couple of times in front of the family and some of my ladies, and they all think you're does it very well," Victoria replied with a gesture of affection and motherly pride.  
"Your Highness, do not feel obliged to do something you do not want ... But I would love to hear you sing because such a beautiful young lady must surely have an angelic voice and it must be a privilege to enjoy it" said Lord Melbourne with deep affection reflected in his voice and in his face.  
Vicky saw him, she still blushing, but immediately the love reflected in the gaze of that man encouraged her and the girl smiled happily.  
"Well, I think I can sing a song for Lord Melbourne," said Vicky lovely way.  
"Wonderful! I will accompany you on the piano," said Victoria excited and happy.  
Victoria and Vicky talked and agreed that Vicky would sing the carol "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing." Victoria sat in front of the piano and began to play the melody of the song, and Vicky standing in front of Lord Melbourne sang the lyrics with a very beautiful voice for her age, a sweet and melodious voice of a little girl. In her mouth the letter of the carol came to life in a lovely way:  
“Hark! the herald angels sing,  
Glory to the new-born King!  
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,  
God and sinners reconciled.  
Joyful, all ye nations, rise,  
Join the triumph of the skies;  
With the' angelic host proclaim,  
Christ is born in Bethlehem.  
Hark! the herald angels sing,  
Glory to the new-born King!  
Christ, by highest heaven adored:  
Christ, the everlasting Lord;  
Late in time behold him come,  
Offspring of the favoured one.  
Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see;  
Hail, the incarnate Deity:  
Pleased, as a man, with men to dwell,  
Jesus, our Emmanuel!  
Hark! the herald angels sing,  
Glory to the new-born King!  
Hail! the heaven-born  
Prince of peace!  
Hail! the Son of Righteousness!  
Light and life to all he brings,  
Risen with healing in his wings  
Mild he lays his glory by,  
Born that man no more may die:  
Born to raise the son of earth,  
Born to give them second birth.  
Hark! the herald angels sing,  
Glory to the new-born King !”  
Lord Melbourne listened increasingly touched, with a cumulus of emotions about to explode in his chest. His hands trembled and his eyes were full of tears, and some of them ran down his cheeks. When the girl finished singing and smiled a sweet smile, Lord Melbourne had to make a great effort to speak, his voice broken by emotion:  
"Thank you very much, Your Highness! ... It's ... It's the most beautiful that ... the most beautiful thing ..." Lord Melbourne said as his lips trembled and his voice broke until he could not anymore and he broke himself, crying desperately like a child, and almost pouting.  
"Lord Melbourne ..." Vicky said surprised and alarmed.  
Victoria stood up and walking away from the piano, she hurried to Lord Melbourne, and with one hand grabbed one arm of Lord Melbourne and with another hand stroked his head, on his partially grey hair.  
"Lord M! ... Please, Lord M, do not get like that! ... Do not cry, please! " exclaimed Victoria trying to stop her own wish to cry.  
"Mama, what's the matter with Lord Melbourne? " Vicky asked worried and moved.  
"Honey, Lord Melbourne is sick and your song moved him a lot because it reminded him of his children," Victoria replied trying to reassure her daughter, but in a voice broken by emotion and saying the last words could not help but break herself, and with a pout, she broke in tears.  
"Mama, Lord Melbourne, do not cry!" exclaimed Vicky beginning to cry and approach timidly to Lord Melbourne and putting her little hand on his knee.  
Lord Melbourne extended a hand to touch Vicky, but did not dare, and cried more strongly. Victoria went to the door and, opening it, she peeked out to call Miss Skerrett who hurried to her mistress's call.  
"Please, Skerrett, take the princess with you a few minutes while I talk to Lord Melbourne ..." Victoria said trying to calm herself and wiping her tears with the back of one hand, while she saw Skerrett with a meaningful gaze, "Vicky, go with Miss Skerrett while I comfort Lord Melbourne, then you'll come back to say goodbye to him ... and take your gift so you can show it to Skerrett," Victoria said to her daughter.  
Vicky saw, with some confusion, her mother, but obeyed and went to the door with her musical box, while turning to see with curiosity her mother and Lord Melbourne, who was still crying. Skerrett took her hand and went out with her.  
"Come on, Your Highness, the cook at Brocket Hall has some delicious cookies and some cake for you, the butler told me," Skerrett said softly to distract Vicky.  
Vicky seemed happy and both went out the door, while Skerrett closed it to give privacy to Victoria and Lord Melbourne.  
Victoria turned to see Lord Melbourne with an intense gaze of love and compassion and approaching him placed a kiss on the hair that covered his head. Then, she did something that would have scandalized most of her subjects if they could see her at that moment, and slowly sat on Lord Melbourne's lap. Instead of rejecting her courteously, Lord Melbourne hugged her and narrow her against him, and she reciprocated by embracing him and sinking her face into his neck.  
"I'm sorry, my love ... I just wanted you to see her. I wanted to comfort you, I wanted to comfort you with a piece of her ... I wanted you to see with your own eyes the beautiful and wonderful creature she has become," said Victoria crying again.  
"I thank you, Victoria ... it has been one of the most beautiful moments of my life ... It is the best Christmas gift you could give to this sick old man," said Lord Melbourne with his voice broken and still crying.  
"Every day, when I see her I see you ... When I see your eyes in her eyes, your lips on her lips when I see her confident, intelligent, funny, ironic personality ... You live in her, and she is part of you, although she barely knows you ... William, she is the best we have done together and while she is by my side a part of you will be by my side, reminding me how much we have loved each other," Victoria said while pouting, and tears ran down her cheeks.  
"She has been the best gift you have given me, ma'am ... She is a gift that I do not deserve, this innocent and beautiful girl is the best thing I have done in my life, and seeing her has made me feel that my life has been worth it, despite so much pain and so much shame, so much loneliness ... Her existence almost compensates me for the fact of having lost her mother ... although really nothing in this life or any other life can compensate for your absence, and the made to lose you ... I'm just glad to know that our love will continue to live, through her when I'm gone," replied Lord Melbourne trying to stop his crying.  
Victoria moved a little on his lap to see Lord Melbourne in the eye.  
"I love you, William," Victoria said with infinite love and sadness reflected on her face and eyes.  
"I love you, Victoria," William said, his eyes bright with tears and trying sadly to sketch one of his old funny and charming smiles.  
Both kissed on the lips, tenderly, with a mixture of passion, nostalgia and sadness. They kissed for several minutes, and then Victoria laid her head on his chest.  
"Victoria, I think I do not have much time left in this world," said William, calmly and with a firmer voice.  
"Don't say that please," Victoria prayed with pain.  
"It's the truth ... when the inevitable will happen, you must go on, you must be strong, for me and for Vicky, and also for your other children," replied William, affectionate and worried.  
"It's okay my love ... before I forget, I brought you another gift," said Victoria making an effort to calm down and got up to go get something, and returned with something wrapped in wrapping paper.  
When Lord Melbourne ripped the paper and opened it, he was very surprised.  
"This is…? " Lord Melbourne asked bewildered, but did not finish the sentence.  
"Yes, it is one of those modern daguerreotypes ... Vicky and I have posed for it, some time ago, but I preferred to have the opportunity to hand it over to you in person. Of course, there are other copies, the official excuse is that the Queen wanted to have her first portrait of a daguerreotype, which she was anxious to be the first British Monarch who experimented with the new technology of photography. But my main motivation was that you would have a fairly true image of Vicky and me ... I guess some people have found it strange that I posed with Princess Victoria and not Bertie who is my heir, or Albert ... but well, I got what I wanted," Victoria said with a lovely smile.  
"Thank you so much, ma'am! I will keep it as the most precious treasure," replied Lord Melbourne with a wonderful smile like the ones he exhibited in the past.  
They both continued talking, but strangely she no longer listened, not even her own voice, and when her gaze was fixed on a newspaper that was on a small table next to the armchair of Lord Melbourne and saw that the date was from one of the first days of December 1847, she felt a chill. Then everything went dark and when the light returned, she realized that she was in another very different room, and without understanding why, she remembered very well the date on which she now was. That date was January 25, 1858 ...  
In front of Victoria was her daughter Vicky, now a 17-year-old girl, dressed in a wedding dress.  
"The ceremony was beautiful, Vicky ... your father is very proud of you," Victoria said excitedly.  
"Which father, mother? ... Prince Albert or Lord Melbourne? " Vicky asked apparently serene, but with a lot of contained emotion.  
"Vicky! " Victoria exclaimed surprised and scared, turning pale.  
"Do you think I'm stupid, mother? I discovered it long ago ... I had to understand why it was so important for me to see Lord Melbourne shortly before what was the last Christmas of his life. Do not try to deny it, mother, you'll only embarrass yourself, I'm sure I'm Lord Melbourne's daughter," Vicky replied determinedly, with an intense gaze like the ones Victoria saw in Lord Melbourne's eyes.  
"Vicky, forgive me, I ..." Victoria said with tears in her eyes.  
"Today I've married a man I do not love, Mama ... I have no doubt that Prince Friedrich is a good man, and I do not doubt that with time I can get to feel affection for him ... but I do not love him, I hardly know him, and I do not know if I will love him someday. I've married for duty, practically because they forced me, just like you did one day, Mama ... Today, I see you, Mama ... today I don't see my mother, I don't see the Queen, Victoria Regina, today I see a woman like me, and therefore a companion in misfortune ... We are both companions of misfortune, Mama, we were both born not to be free, not to be happy, not to love who we want, in the name of duty we were born to be simple pawns of the game of others, to be slaves ... That's why I do not feel resentment for you Mama, I only feel pity, the same pity that from today I feel for myself," said Vicky with moist eyes, but containing the emotion.  
"Vicky! ... Vicky! " exclaimed Victoria crying almost desperately.  
"But like you, I will fulfil my duty, mother. And do not worry, I will always love you ... now excuse me, I have to change my clothes, to start my married life ... With your permission, Mama" said Vicky and left without waiting for her mother's permission.  
Victoria wanted to reach out her hand to reach her, but then everything darkened again, and when it cleared again Victoria was in the middle of a large room in William's mansion, nowadays. Victoria realized that she was dressed in her pyjamas and was wearing socks and slippers. She realized that she had left the bedroom in the middle of the dream, like a sleepwalker. But now she knew that they were not dreams, but real life, memories of the past.  
"Vicky, my daughter! ... Vicky, forgive me! ... Lord M! ... Lord M, my love! ... My love, forgive me! ... My love, come back to me!" exclaimed Victoria crying plaintive, like a wounded animal, like a desperate and broken girl, with a heartrending pain.  
Victoria fell to her knees and put her hands to her head, as she cried almost hysterically and almost drowned in the middle of pouts. Then Victoria heard the sound of water in the scale model of a river in the Nativity scene and raising her head she saw the scene illuminated by the Christmas lights. Victoria was hypnotized watching the Nativity scene and her vision blurred, while she heard a thud, like the murmurs of many people. Then Victoria felt her body fail and fell on her left side to the floor, staring at the scene. And her mind and soul were once again plunged into time travel and the oneiric worlds ...


	6. Bethlehem.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A special night in our lives.

She walked through the wide yard of that house in a style so ancient for her present, at that time so remote in the measure of time for humans.  
It was as if she had unfolded, from her present self she contemplated that as visions of a very distant past. But her other self, the one who was alive at the time, lived it as her current reality.  
Victoria knew she was herself, that that girl was herself. But for that girl ... Who was Victoria? Victoria did not exist, it was not a reality for that girl, neither of the two women who had that name nor the Victoria of the 19th century nor the Victoria of the 21st century. That girl was a woman who would die without knowing who Victoria would be since Victoria would not exist in her spatial and temporal universe. Victoria was a distant reality that someday it would be, but it was not yet.  
That girl had another face and another body, her physical appearance was not that of a British woman of the 19th century nor of the 21st century. Her features were those of a woman of another race, but what she had in common with Victoria is that she was still a beautiful woman. Actually, she was a very beautiful teenage girl, because the girl looked to be between 15 and 16 years old.  
She wore a dress so long that it reached to her ankles and wore a veil over her head, and she wore rustic sandals. The girl entered the big house and found it full of people, in what was a kind of bar or tavern. Many people ate and drank while talking loudly, and some laughed loudly, as was usual when people drink a lot of wine. The girl saw a man and a woman, her mother and her stepfather, who spoke among themselves. The girl walked towards them walking briskly.  
"Why did you refuse to host the couple in the yard! " the girl asked angrily in a language that would sound strange for the Victoria of the present but that she could perfectly understand in her other self.  
"You mean that couple that came with a donkey? ... Have not they left yet? " replied the annoyed man.  
"How are they going to leave? The lady is with child and she is about to give birth ... How can you throw a woman out to outdoor who is about to give birth?" the girl asked in a tone of protest.  
"I do it easily ... the inn is full by the census, for the first time in a long time. All the rooms are occupied and I have nowhere to house them," the man said impatiently.  
"You can give them my bedroom, I would not mind doing it so that poor woman gives birth under a roof," the girl replied.  
"I can not because your room is already rented like the one that is mine and of your mother ... tonight you must sleep in a corner of the kitchen, your mother and you," the man replied.  
"Then you can beg a guest, surely they will understand," insisted the girl.  
"I beg them? ... For strangers? You're a stupid girl," the man replied, raising his voice.  
"You can rent them the manger, although it's not ideal, I can arrange it, for the woman to give birth," the desperate girl asked.  
"No, I will not ... the manger is reserved in case someone comes with enough money and desperate because he can not find accommodation ... those people do not have enough money, what he said he can pay I did not think it was enough," the man said with contempt and irony.  
"How can you be like that? It is our duty with God to help people, our brothers ... it is a sin to turn our backs on the helpless and the desperate. Your duty as a child of Israel is to be compassionate with your fellow men or if not, you're not worthy to step on the synagogue," said the indignant girl, ignoring the gestures of her mother who begged her to keep quiet.  
"How dare you, insolent girl? Go to work and help your mother and the servants!" exclaimed the man turning red with anger.  
"No! ... I will not move from here until you say that you're going to give lodging to that lady and her husband!" exclaimed the defiant girl, gathering courage.  
"Damned ungrateful girl!" exclaimed the man raising his hand to slap the girl, while she closed her eyes waiting for the blow.  
But the man's hand was stopped by the powerful hand of another man, tall and strong, who had approached them, and who held the man by the wrist of the hand with which he intended to hit that girl who, in a distant future it would be Victoria.  
"How dare you, bastard? ... How dare you put your hand on me in my own house?" the indignant man asked as he removed his hand violently.  
"I just kept you from hitting this girl, something that does not honour your home, sir," said the other man with a wry smile, but with an intense and hard gaze.  
"This girl is my daughter and I can do with her what I want I even killing her," the angry man replied and raising his threatening fist in front of the face of the girl's defender, "Who the hell are you?" he added.  
"I am Simeon ben-Judas, the new tax collector of this town," replied the defender of the girl.  
"The tax collector?" replied the girl's stepfather paling.  
"Yes, one of my servants came to rent the room for me, because I was in a meeting with the garrison commander," said Simeon.  
"My apologies, Mr Simeon, I ..." the innkeeper begged.  
"That does not matter ... without wanting to listen to your conversation. Unfortunately, I can not offer my room to that couple because I have things there that I must protect and my most trusted servant must stay in it to take care of them," Simeon said turning to see the girl, "But I am willing to pay for the accommodation of that couple in the manger ... Tell me if that is not enough and we will agree on a fair and satisfactory amount," he added turning to see the innkeeper while he throwing some gold coins on a table next to them.  
"Of course it's enough, and let me offer you a pitcher of my best wine, house courtesy," replied the innkeeper, servile and nervous.  
"I thank you, but instead of the wine I prefer an abundant and delicious dinner for the woman who is going to give birth and her husband and everything they need to be comfortable in that humble stable," Simeon replied firmly.  
"The lady and her husband will need my help, I would like to help them instead of working in the inn and the tavern tonight," said the girl, emboldened by Simeon's presence.  
"I also want you to allow your daughter to help that couple, I'm willing to pay you a day's wages to compensate for the inconvenience," Simeon said in a tone of authority.  
"Of course, she can do it," said the innkeeper, who saw his stepdaughter with a gaze of ill-concealed anger that made her think that later nothing would save her from a few blows or lashes.  
"Allow me to accompany you, young lady, I want to know that couple," Simeon said addressing the girl, "With your permission, sir," he added addressing the innkeeper.  
A couple of minutes later they both walked towards the yard where the couple waited.  
"What is your name?" Simeon asked kindly to the girl.  
"My name is Berenice bat-Lazarus, sir," said the girl who in future lives would be known as Victoria.  
"Berenice ... a beautiful name" said Simeon, the man who in future lives would be known as Lord Melbourne and William Cartwright.  
The girl blushed and looked away from the man's beautiful eyes.  
Simeon and Berenice met with the couple. Simeon felt strangely impressed and touched when he met the spouses, Joseph and Mary. They were a fairly young couple, especially Mary who was almost a girl of Berenice's age. Joseph was quite handsome and Mary very beautiful, but there was a special brightness in both, especially in the intense gaze of Mary's beautiful eyes, a gaze that conveyed a mysterious strength, a gaze that made Simeon lower his head disturbed and shy.  
Berenice helped Joseph and Mary to settle in the manger, while the contractions that announced the birth were increasingly frequent in Mary. Berenice was concerned and very helpful, eager to help with joy and tenderness. When she went to look for a bucket of water, Simeon offered to help her despite the protests of Berenice, who was embarrassed, but who was actually happy to stay with him.  
Throughout the birth, Simeon and Berenice stayed close to help. Berenice often entered the manger, while Simeon remained outside waiting almost as nervous as Joseph, the father, who did not separate from his wife.  
It was a beautiful night, with a huge full moon, and a starry sky, which was clear because there were practically no clouds in the sky. Thousands and thousands of stars, which looked so big and bright that they seemed to be arm's reach. There was a special atmosphere that night, and although Simeon had seen many starry and beautiful nights throughout his life, there was something about it, something that made him feel like he was living in a dream, in a oneiric world where everything around him it seemed to be seen through a prism that made everything brighter, with more vivid and cheerful colours. And that peace, that particular peace, as his troubled heart had never known, such a special atmosphere that made him think that if death was like that, there was nothing to fear, it was something very beautiful ... Even that thought was so strange ...  
And then a crying burst into the night, and a child who would be known as the Prince of Peace came into the world. A while later, Simeon timidly entered the manger, invited by the happy parents who wanted to thank him. The child was in the arms of a happy Berenice, who was touched by the child. When Simeon saw the baby in the face, the newborn saw him in the eyes and he seemed to smile, and Simeon's heart shuddered as if his life had changed at that moment, and his eyes filled with tears ...  
Then other strange things happened, like the arrival of some shepherds who claimed that a strange being (whom some identified him with an angel of the Scriptures) had appeared to them in the field and had announced to them the birth of an anointed by God that would bring Hope to the world.  
A while later Simeon and Berenice retired in the direction of the inn commenting happily what happened. Berenice's cheerful and sweet laugh finished convincing Simeon.  
"Berenice ... I do not know how to explain it, but today I felt emotions that I have never felt in my life ... I have felt that my life has changed and I ... I have also discovered you ... My heart longs for you ..." Simeon said excitedly.  
"Sir, I am a virtuous maiden, and ..." Berenice replied nervously.  
"I know ... Berenice, I was married once and my wife died giving birth to our son who also died ... Since then I've been alone ... How old are you? " Simeon asked anxiously.  
"I've just turned 15 years old," said Berenice blushing.  
"I am 30 and soon I will be 31 ... Berenice, seeing that child boy I have felt an irresistible desire to love ... and then I realized that in spite I just met you, my feelings for you will grow unchecked ... Berenice, I want to marry you" said Simeon with the voice broken by emotion.  
Berenice opened her eyes in surprise.  
"But I will not ask your father for your hand if you do not want ... I will not have you if you do not want it, I want you ..." Simeon said with fear of rejection and a certain embarrassment.  
"Yes! ... Yes, I want ... I want it, sir," said Berenice excited, red as a tomato and with tears in her eyes.  
Simeon reacted surprised and then very happy. He took Berenice by the hand, and they looked for Berenice's stepfather and mother, who saw them coming surprised and in the case of the stepfather with anger.  
"I want to marry your daughter," said Simeon decided.  
"What crazy things are you saying? You ..." protested the furious innkeeper.  
"I am willing to pay a generous amount to thank you for your permission and compensate for the loss of such a valuable daughter," Simeon said throwing a bag full with many gold and silver coins on the table in front Berenice's stepfather, and the bag was opened by watering coins on the table, causing the man to open his eyes wide.  
"Well, it's not about money but about ..." the man replied hesitantly, but then Simeon threw a second bag with more money, and the man saw the money with infinite greed, "Of course, in this grimy city it is not easy to get a good husband for a good, hardworking and well-educated young woman, and a tax collector is the best husband she can have. We just have to sit down and talk about the details and about ... about the total amount of that generous compensation. But surely you will have my permission and I congratulate you because you will have a very good wife," he added with a smile of pure hypocrisy and greed that seemed an unpleasant grimace.  
"But my daughter cannot be sold like a lamb! ... My girl does not ..." Berenice's mother said in anguish.  
"Shut up, woman! ... You just have to obey!" exclaimed the furious innkeeper addressing his wife.  
"I want to hear what the lady has to say," said Simeon defending his future mother-in-law.  
"Mama, calm down ... it is my will to marry Mr Simeon. I want to be his wife, I think he is a good man and I will be happy next to him," said Berenice to her mother, with a sweet and happy smile.  
In that vision of the past Victoria knew what would come next, she knew that she married Simeon and they lived together for the rest of their lives. But now her soul flew to another moment, many years later, and then she saw herself as Berenice, but a Berenice with much older age, looking more than 40 years old.  
She was still a very beautiful woman, now with a mature and stately beauty. Berenice wore clothes that were very elegant for her time, like a high society lady in the Judea occupied by the Romans in the first century. She was walking down the street with a much younger woman, and although that young woman had an appearance different physics, Victoria knew in that vision that it was Nancy, who in that life was her maid.  
Both entered a house full of many people, with a multitude of very different people, but who mostly seemed to be poor people. There were many children, women and the elderly, and a few sick or disabled people.  
Berenice and her maid entered the dining room of the house, where there was a group of men and women sitting at a long table around a young man, very tall, handsome and with long hair. Everyone seemed attentive to what he said or did. When Berenice came in followed by her maid, there was silence.  
Berenice said her name and began to explain that her husband Simeon was very sick, almost dying. With tears in her eyes, Berenice begged the man who was presiding over the table to help her husband.  
"Your husband is a tax collector, he is a collaborator of the damned Romans and he has dedicated himself to bleed our people with those taxes that condemn us to misery, everything so that him and you can live as rich," said a man, from a corner of the great hall, in anger, a man with a fierce aspect, while they listening to some murmurs of people commenting that this man had been (or probably was still) a Zealot, a guerrilla of the resistance Jewish against Roman occupation.  
"It's been several years since my husband stopped being a tax collector. But even when he was, he tried to be condescending with our people, and help them pay the taxes in more favourable conditions. Since he stopped being a tax collector, my husband has been a merchant and landowner, and he has been very good with his workers, and he has paid them very generous salaries and has always helped them. In addition, he and I have been very pious, we went to the synagogue frequently, and we have donated a lot to our poorest brothers ... Rabbi, my husband is a good and believer man," said Berenice anxious and finally addressed the man who presided over the table.  
"Good and believer man? It is a leech that has sucked our blood and a traitor to Israel! ... A rat that collaborates with pagans cannot be a man of faith!" exclaimed the ferocious man and spat on the ground with contempt.  
The man who presided over the table was silent, his face seemed serene, but the women around him who knew him better than men could read the displeasure in his eyes.  
"Please, rabbi! My husband is all I have ... he and I have no children, God has not blessed us with them ..." Berenice said crying inconsolably while one of the men made a hurtful and derogatory comment when she said they had no children, "If my husband dies I will be alone in the world, I will lose the only thing that really matters to me in the world, I will no longer have reasons to live ... I beg you, rabbi ... I will do what you want, I will do anything that is pleasing in the eyes of God ... if it is necessary I will do penance and humiliate myself as you ask," she added without ceasing to cry and pout.  
"Rabbi, my lady and my lord are very good! I beg you," said the maid, crying.  
"Rabbi, I ask your clemency for my sins and those of my husband ... I know you speak with a just and powerful voice, I know that you are god's envoy and that through your intercession God works great miracles, I beg you, rabbi," said Berenice.  
Then Berenice lowered her veil to leave her hair uncovered and took off her sandals to stay barefoot, and got on her knees. She placed her palms on the floor and bent her body to place her forehead against the floor, in a show of humiliation and adoration. Her maid did the same. Some men, incited by the former guerrilla, mocked and even insulted her, while other men and all the women present showed disapproval for the cruel behaviour of the troublemakers on their faces.  
"I want to propose that we drink wine in honour of God ..." said the young man who presided over the table with a kind but powerful voice that silenced everyone while he raising a bowl of wine and Berenice raised her head to see him, "For God, who lives in happiness and in pain, that lives in the cry of the oppressed and in the happiness of the oppressors, in the innocence of children and in the disenchantment of adults, in the love of lovers and in the sadness of lonely and abandoned ..."  
The man stood up, imposing in his high tall and his muscular body, in his beautiful face with beard and long hair.  
"... who lives in the helplessness of the poor and in the squandering of the rich ... For God who lives in health and illness, in laughter and tears, in believers and in sceptics, in virtuous and in sinners ... For God who lives in temples and in taverns, in the chastity and in lust, in the playgrounds where children play and in brothels, in the hoe and in the sword ... For God who is everything and he lives in everything, because nothing is alien to him ... because he has created men and women, and he has given them free will ... that is why he lives in their glory and in their decadence, in their victory and in their defeat, in their virtue and in their sin, in their faith and in their scepticism, in their prayers and in their blasphemy ..."  
The man approached Berenice as he spoke.  
"That's why he does not turn his back on anyone, because he would be turning his back on himself ... That's why I told you all, do not judge so that you are not judged ... because the measuring stick with which you judge you will be judged ... Is it so hard to understand, my beloved children?" said the man with a smile while his intense gaze travelled the entire room making everyone feel impressed, as it used to be, and finally fixed his eyes on Berenice, "Stand up, woman," he said and extended his hand to Berenice who took it, and he helped her get up.  
The man made the maid also get up and then had them both sit on two chairs, and he asked his female disciples to bring a small bucket of water and some cloths used as towels. He took a barefoot from Berenice and started to wash it.  
"No, rabbi! No, it's necessary," said Berenice ashamed.  
"Easy, woman ... For me, it is a pleasure to serve my brothers and my sisters. Besides, you did much more for me ... I do not think you remember that you carried me while I was a baby," the man replied in a very affectionate voice.  
"To you, rabbi?" Berenice asked surprised.  
"The day of my birth ... in a manger in Bethlehem, a starry night," said the man expressing love and gratitude with his eyes.  
"The child in the manger!" exclaimed Berenice very surprised.  
"That's right ... thanks for the help that you and your husband gave to my mother and father that night ... It will be an honour for me to spend the night at your house tonight," said the man with a charming smile.  
And in that way, at dusk that day Jesus of Nazareth entered the house of Simeon and Berenice, accompanied by some of his disciples, men and women.  
Jesus asked to see Simeon immediately, and they took him to the bedroom where the master of the house was bedridden, suffering from his grave illness. Jesus introduced himself and revealed his link in the past with Simeon.  
"The boy in the manger ... you've grown a lot," Simeon said in a weak voice and a sweet, nostalgic smile on his aged, haggard face.  
"And you, my dear brother, I see you much better than I feared ... I see you strong, proud and beautiful as a stallion. Soon I'll see you standing, and then we'll talk about the old days," replied Jesus smiling.  
"Rabbi, if I am a stallion then breeding mares will remain virgins," answered Simeon mockingly.  
"Simeon!" Berenice exclaimed in scolding tone, but she was surprised to see Jesus laughing out loud and how Simeon joined with muffled laughter for the weakness of his body, making she smile amused.  
In the days that followed, Jesus was sitting at the bedside of Simeon, talking with him, praying and placing his hands on Simeon's head and chest. And Simeon began to heal, to recover strength and his illness was disappearing, while everyone commented that it was thanks to the prayers and the laying on of hands of Jesus. At the end of one of his last days in the house of Simeon, Jesus was talking with Berenice in the yard of the house.  
"So, God has not blessed you with children? " Jesus asked, although by the gesture of his face it seemed that he already knew the answer.  
"No, rabbi ... I have been with child several times, but I have lost the fruit of my womb without ever seeing it become a child ... my husband could have disowned me for not being able to give him a single child but he has remained by my side, he never wanted to leave me, because he loves me," said Berenice with tears in her eyes.  
"God will bless you with a daughter, Berenice," Jesus replied compassionately.  
"At my age? I am sorry, rabbi, but at my age, I do not believe that this is possible anymore and less after suffering so many losses," Berenice replied smiling tender, but sadly.  
"It will not be because you and Simeon do not do what is necessary to work the miracle, I think you two do enough of your part to achieve it," Jesus said winking and smiling.  
Berenice blushed until she looked like a tomato and smiled embarrassedly.  
"Rabbi, you do not tell me that, I'm ashamed!" exclaimed Berenice very embarrassed, but was surprised to see that Jesus laughed with a charming and almost childish laugh.  
"And to think that history will represent me as someone very serious! ..." Jesus exclaimed funny confusing Berenice, "Berenice, for God there is nothing impossible ... but you must also know that we live in the endless cycle of life, a cycle of ups and downs and constant changes. Just as I tell you that you will conceive a daughter, I also tell you that one day in the distant arcana of time you will live on an island, large and remote, and many will bow before you in veneration ... But authentic happiness will still delay, but someday you will have it," said Jesus with love and compassion.  
The soul of Victoria went on its way, and went to another moment a few years later, when Jesus walked through the streets of Jerusalem carrying a heavy cross, being whipped without mercy. Berenice and Simeon watched him, both crying, while their little daughter hugged her mother's legs and cried.  
"Mama, why do they do that to the rabbi? " asked the girl crying and pouting, a girl who would one day reincarnate as Vicky.  
"I do not know, Salome ... I do not know," said Berenice, heartbreak by pain.  
Victoria's soul finished her journey and returned to her present. Slowly she woke up and stood up, looking at the Nativity scene in front of her, remembering the images of the true Christmas Night that she now knew she had lived in person. And then she heard footsteps behind her and turned to see William walking towards her, with a face that reflected intense emotion. He was dressed in pyjamas and a sleeping gown over his pyjamas, and he was holding a picture frame in his hand. William handed her the picture frames and Victoria saw that it was her daguerreotype with Vicky in her previous life.  
"You always knew? " Victoria asked surprised and moved.  
"Many years ago, in the helicopter accident in the jungle of Venezuela ... I was between life and death. While they came to rescue me and get me out of the jungle, some Indians took care of me ... and then, I had all those visions that a shaman helped me understand and interpret. That day, my soul woke up to the reality of my past, of our past ... and that day I knew it was only a matter of time before you came to me ... And here you are," said William, moved, while holding back the tears.  
"Could not you tell me when you saw me arrive?" Victoria asked with tears.  
"You had to find out for yourself," said William.  
"Simeon, Lord M, William ... maybe someones more, but you will always be the same for me, the man I love," said Victoria standing on tiptoe to hug him and kiss him on the lips.  
William kissed her passionately and then lifted her up and carried her like a baby, and carried her to his bedroom, where they made love the rest of the night ...  
The next day, at the Christmas dinner, Victoria and William made a surprising announcement to Nancy and Francatelli ...  
"We are getting married!" exclaimed Victoria, and Nancy drowned with the glass of champagne she was drinking and coughed loudly, while Francatelli saw William with great surprise.  
On Christmas Day, Victoria called her mother to break the news and her mother fell almost fainted on the couch. Victoria's father took more than half a bottle of whiskey to overcome the shocking surprise.  
A couple of years later, William and Victoria celebrated Christmas with their little daughter. The girl caressed the belly of her mother, who was waiting for her second child.  
"In the next Christmas you will have a brother, Vicky, to play with him," said William caressing the curls of his daughter.  
Victoria smiled at her husband and then fixed her eyes on the Christmas tree, and her memory returned to a sacred night, thousands of years before, and to the child who was born in that manger. Then she remembered the beautiful gaze of the man that child had become, and from her heart a prayer of gratitude was raised to her friend Jesus, knowing that Christmas would always be much more special for her and her husband than for any other living human ... Happy Holidays and peace on earth for men and women of goodwill!


End file.
